City of St. Paul seeks to stop photo ID

The city of St. Paul joined other photo ID foes in arguing against a proposed constitutional amendment that is headed for the November general election ballot.

The city filed a brief in support of a legal challenge to the amendment, which was passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature this session.

The city argues that it "is not empowered" to put the constitutional amendment on the ballot because Gov. Mark Dayton successfully vetoed the portion of the bill that designates the title and ballot question. The city also argues that the question could "strip voters of their constitutional right to vote" and "force the City to spend substantial tax dollars to implement provisional voting programs."

The city says that precincts "could interpret the confusing and ambiguous measure in different ways" and this could lead to "inconsistent application of which citizens are allowed to exercise their constitutional right to vote."

The city filed its brief as an "amicus" or "friend of the court." Several other groups are filing similar motions, as are organizations in support of photo ID.

The issue was brought to the Minnesota Supreme Court by the League of Women Voters-Minnesota and other organizations. They argued that the ballot question voters will see does not fairly and accurately reflect the proposed constitutional amendment, which will not appear on the ballot.

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